Picture Catch-Up

I was talking with the secretary at the church where I work about how busy we have been lately.  I certainly love my peaceful, quiet afternoons when the girls are napping but outside of that I love to stay busy.  When I look back over our days they are filled with family, friends, caring for others and lots of fun.  It makes me truly think..."my cup runneth over!"

Here are some pictures of all our recent happenings...

Mark is a donut/cookie/all things sweet aficionado.  I kept hearing about Sublime donuts downtown and thought we should make the stop on the way to the zoo.  I think they were enjoyed!

Plaid shorts day at the Taylor home!

Aunt Lindsay took us to visit Tappy the pony.

We also celebrated Cinco de Mayo with the Crowes and a few other families.

While Mark and some of the other fellas were on a mens retreat, we had the ladies over for lunch.  Of course, there are no pictures of the ladies...only the sweet kids.  :-)  They look so grown up at their table.

Confidence

Last night was quite a night at our house.  Caroline was up until 11:00 crying and saying that the thunder from a storm going through was keeping her awake.  She never used the word "scared" so I didn't either.  However, she would not stay in her room.  Everytime I would put her in there she would climb out of bed and run back into my room.  We went back and forth for almost 4 hours and sadly, I finally gave in.  Mark was out of town for the night so I was in the battle on my own and she outlasted me!  She ended up sleeping on a pallet in our bedroom.  After coming into our room to finally lay down she didn't make a single peep.  I can't decide if she was that tired or if she just knew that I was d.o.n.e with her nonsense! 

This event last night was "troublesome" to me because I see it as the first of many, many battles of will.  I know that the actual problem was incredibly small and nothing in the big scheme of things but here is my problem....I have a strong desire for my children to be confident and secure in life.  I know that this confidence cannot come from within themselves and can only come from the Lord.  I do not want them to live a life of fear.  I also don't want them to be dependent on the things of this world in order to be confident or secure. I think so hard about the consequences and responses that I use when I parent because I know that they will stick with her, whether or not they are healthy.  Out of a need for conversation in the midst of my desperation last night I posted on facebook about our mini-drama.  Only a few responded but two folks said to put a fan in her room.  I didn't want to use one last night because I feel that is depending on something of this world to stay calm.  It's funny because this morning one of my friends responded that if I used the fan that she would be addicted to it forever.  Thank you for the confirmation.  :-)

I talked with Caroline many times last night about God being with her and talked with her about praying whenever she heard the thunder.  We talked about singing and taking care of her baby doll who couldn't sleep either.  However none of that worked.  She did eventually fall asleep and for that was I grateful. 

Like I said, the situation itself was minor in the grand scheme of raising a child.  This situation and the many to come bring lots of questions to my parenting heart though.  What will happen next time it storms?  Or what about the next time she doesn't want to stay in Sunday School?  Or the bigger question of, how do I instill a confidence and security in her from the Lord?  Have I given her tools in her heart and mind that she can use? 

 

Special.

This afternoon I was sitting with the girls in the play room.  Libby was crawling around and Caroline was sitting with Mark's guitar in her lap and singing. 



She has been making up lots of songs lately and it's pretty funny.  One of her favorites consists of the verses, "Gigi shut the door, I so very sad.  I have lots of bows in my room.  Gigi shut the door."  Apparently, she was playing to mom's soft spot when she was here visiting.  She kept telling Mom that she was sad when she would shut the door to her bedroom at night!  It's funny that Mom has been gone for almost 2 weeks now and we still here it.  It's pretty funny!

She was singing all sorts of silliness today and then all of a sudden I hear her say, "My mama is so special."  I turned to her right away and said, "Caroline that was so sweet.  You are gonna make me cry happy tears."  To which she replied, "Do it...do it mama...DO IT...DO IT NOW!"  Bah...she wanted me to start crying...thus her next move...singing, "My mama is so special.  My mama is so special."  I could not contain my giggles!

Needless to say I think she is pretty special!  :-)
NeNeedless to sa

Cruise

We had a great time on the cruise.  Every time I would think about the girls, I would feel terribly sad...so I just did my best not to think of them too often!  Mom was so sweet to send us an email update every day so that we could hear how they were doing.  The reports were always glowing.  Since we weren't worried about how they were doing we were able to enjoy all of the other goodness around us. 

We spent most of our time chilling out by the pool, reading and relaxing.















Mark had a few favorite venues...including our balcony...

and "the bridge" which allowed him to watch the captain and his friends steer the boat.



 Everyone always talks about the food on cruise ships.  It was very good and ABUNDANT!  I tried so hard to eat healthy...notice the cucumbers, olives, broccoli and hummus.

and then there is the chocolate bread pudding.   I'm all about some bread pudding.  :-)

One of my favorite things about the cruise is taht I got to dress up every night!  I never have time to fix my hair, put on make up and wear pretty clothes at home so I took full advantage and wore a dress to dinner every night.  We even enjoyed two formal nights!

Our first stop was Cozumel.  I don't think Mark or I was impressed with Cozumel.  It was fun to get off the boat and walk around and the water was beautiful but the town was not too impressive.

 Our second stop was Grand Cayman and we went swimming with the stingrays. 

Insert lots of girly squeals here...at least I tried.

Mark was actually much braver than me but I still managed to get this great shot! It's hard to see but one is actually rubbing up against his side.  They are like friendly little cats who just want to be fed.  

We both agreed that we enjoyed Jamaica the most.  The area right when you get off the boat is the typical touristy stuff which had been recently redone and was really nice.  We enjoyed browsing in a few shops and bought some things for the girls there.  However, we really enjoyed a little jog that we took through the island.  We probably only ran 2 miles or so but we escaped the touristy section and were able to see this 260 year old church and many schools with little children playing outside.  It was really neat to see some the homes, schools, churches, etc.

and it was fun to exercise together!

Mark actually won this trip through work and there were about 40 other folks from his company/customers that came along too.  I did not realize it until we arrived but there were folks from around the world...India, Germany, Denmark, Mexico, Spain and a few others.  Everyone was so kind and I really enjoyed getting to meet some of the folks that I often hear about. 

Mark brought his customers, Craig and Tina from Maine.  They also were able to bring along their kids, Colin and Isabel and we were thrilled!  The whole family was so easy going and fun to be around.  We had a great time tagging along with them on some family outings.  We couldn't have asked for better guests and new friends! 



There were some real characters among the group.  Jim, in the black shirt is the president of the company and in the picture below some of our European friends were trying to talk him into doing a mini-golf tournament.

SURPRISE....Mark and I won the golf tournament!  :-)



I think it's my Augusta roots coming through.  Mark did many practice strokes just like the professionals we watched a few weeks earlier at the Masters.  :-)

We had a great time on the cruise.  People keep asking me if I would do it again and I think yes.  Everything was so easy, no stress.  It was similar to an all-inclusive but the entertainment was much better.  We went to several of the shows on the ship and really enjoyed them.  We took advantage of as much as possible while still resting and enjoying some peace and quiet.  :-)

We went rock climbing on the boat too.  Of course, Mark had to show me up.  :-)  I only made it half way up and decided I was done but Mark made it up three times.  It's hard to believe that we have been married nearly 7 years.  When I first met Mark he had all this climbing gear (it's still in our garage) and would often go out climbing and rapelling.  However, since we've been married and had kids our time is much different.  It's a treat to see him in his element and a reminder that we need to get out more!

Overall, a wonderful trip.  I was so glad to have some uninterrupted time with Mark.  Of course, we couldn't have done any of this without my madre who sacrificed so much time to be here caring for the girls.  We are truly thankful!

Send Off

We had the best send off on our cruise. The girls and Gigi were filled with smiles and hugs as we departed. We got a few great shots before leaving...








Caroline loved running into our open arms...



and proceeded to knock us over with her excitement.



On our first night away we were wined and dined at Del Frisco's.  We also met our favorite new friends, the Pierre's!  Craig, Tina, Colin and Isabel were the best travel companions!



Sunday morning we left Houston and headed to Galveston to board our new home for the week.

Cruising

We are on our way....in the atlanta airport waiting to catch a plane for houston and then board a ship for a week long cruise through the carribean!  i can hardly believe it for lots of reasons...

 1)  I simply cannot believe that we have been given such pleasures.  the more and more i read and experience I feel truly humbled and completely guilty that we are living in such extravagance when others struggle with basic necessities.  i will enjoy this time...however, we are working on ways to give back and spend less.  

2)  i cant believe that we will be without our girls for 8 days.  i am not afraid of anything happening to them but i am afraid of missing them like crazy!   my heart will never forget their precious smiles!!!

3)  i am afraid of big boats.  i am not a worrier or a fearful person but there is something about big boats that make me nervous!  the other night after talking with mark i asked him if he had ever seen me scared...only once in 9 years together!  this may be the second!  :)  i have had to continually remind myself of God's command in scripture, "do not fear"

incredibly grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to enjoying this gift!

Easter Pictures

No commentary on our fun Easter weekend.  Pictures have been requested by Grape Grandma and I am one to please.  :-)